Detecting Bias Media Worksheet

The importance of making critical evaluations of news stories come to play in the recent story about the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case. This was a story about a young black teenager and a neighborhood watchman that shot and killed Trayvon Martin in Sanford Florida. Many news stations reported the story through the country and the trial was on CNN every day until a verdict came into place. During the trial the prosecutors showed pictures which were the ones that came from the scene that was taken prior after the crime had happened. Trayvon’s pictures showed him as an innocent boy and Zimmerman as upset and angry with a mug shot. The media also showed bias to both these individuals and seemed to be concerned with sensationalism, rather than finding out the true facts. The concern of the case that was showed at the time when the story broke, it appeared to be geared down toward selling the story, and building the story into a racial motivated incident which was believed to be the truth. The news was not completely clear or accurate and the investigative methods were not sufficient in either depth or breadth. The stories promoted the idea that Trayvon was an innocent young child who just happened to be out late that night and George Zimmerman just looked to act as judge, jury and executioner which was sad. The pictures of George Zimmerman seemed to promote prejudice and negative emotions from the audience, because he showed no remorse about what had happened. The prosecutor used bias in the news by deliberately more current pictures of both these individuals during the trial. Many of the news channels across the country seem to deliberate the truth of the story regarding what type of people both Trayvon and George were. A mug shot of a younger angry looking George Zimmerman and a more recent picture...